The band: Artistic, legal, and financial structures which shape modern music

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter focuses on the creative and artistic consequences triggered by legal and business decisions related to the form, structure, and operation of the band as a creative entity, as distinct from its members. The chapter highlights the choices often made by professional musical groups in popular music and the consequences of those choices.

Design/methodology of approach – The chapter follows the legal consequences of organizational formation and how those choices impact a band’s relationship with its record label, publisher, and audience as well as the relationship dynamics within the organization itself.

Findings – Lack of planning often results in tensions that undermine bands, particularly in those bands that form incrementally over time. Standard record label agreements and publishing agreements tend to heighten the tension among band members, creating competing economic incentives for various band members.

Originality – The implications to organizational dynamics for musical groups are rarely analyzed in terms of the band's legal and economic structure either as an academic review or as a professional planning methodology. This analysis and the approach provided herein should provide musicians and their counsel an effective method for planning and anticipating the inevitable tensions that will arise in the various stages of the band’s development.

Citation

Garon, J.M. (2013), "The band: Artistic, legal, and financial structures which shape modern music", Music and Law (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 79-99. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-6136(2013)0000018007